You’d think it would be easy to think of five things I’m good at, wouldn’t you? Well, it’s not!

If I were seven years old, I’d tell you that I am good at reading and I could carry on telling you that I’m good at reading until, really, it would be silly to tell you that, when most people who were good at reading at seven, would carry on being good at reading at twenty or fifty!

If I were eighteen, I might say that I am good at speaking French but at nineteen or thirty years old, I would have to admit that I was no longer good at speaking French as I had not had any practice for years! And the same goes for now, when I am eighty two!

If I were forty I might say that I’m good at reading stories to children out loud. In all my primary school classes I was quite good at finding interesting and/or amusing stories to read aloud. I had lots of practice with ‘Veronica’ from her babyhood right up until she was even better than I was at reading! And, later, in my fifties, I had further practice with Chloë.

What I could never say was that I am good at sports of any kind! I could never say that I’m good at science or astronomy or animal husbandry nor could I say that housework was my forte! I can admit, too, that I am not a good cook – though I can get an edible meal on to the table, given the right packets and other ingredients.

I was quite good at driving but not so great at parallel parking. Julian would tell you that I was too slow when I was driving, always keeping to the speed limit – but I think that that was something I was quite good at. I believe that the speed limits are set for a good reason! Now, I no longer drive, having decided at around the age of seventy six to give up when I realised that I was no longer confident that I could be fast enough with my reactions. As a ‘backseat’ driver, I’m still pretty good, though!

When I was selling jigsaws, I got quite good at putting them together to make sure they were complete but, with retirement and lack of practice, I have lost that knack to some extent.

While I’ve been wracking my brains searching for things I’m quite good at, I have just realised that I am quite good at wasting time! Otherwise, I would have been taking Lola for ‘walkies’ and I certainly wouldn’t have been playing solitaire on my iPad for forty five minutes! I am pretty good at solitaire!